


that flame that once glowed

by amorias



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Monster Apocalypse AU, Work In Progress, more tags/characters to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-18 13:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14214114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amorias/pseuds/amorias
Summary: Everyone has been met with a terrible fate, and Wally is just trying to survive long enough to get back to them. Monster AU.





	1. Gotham City; August 8, 2010, 22:16 EDT

**Author's Note:**

> This is very old and I want to get back to it. Here's what I have so far [finger guns].

It's dark, and that's basically all that Wally knows. It's dark at night, and it's terrifying, because there's monsters fucking _everywhere_ and as if Gotham wasn't scary enough already, it's somehow gotten even worse. All he has to his name are two twin eskrima sticks and a fierce determination to not die, but he's not dead yet, so he'll take it.

It's been a couple months, maybe, since all the monsters started terrorizing Central City (though, in traveling to Gotham City, he realized that it may as well be the whole world that's fallen to this fate). In the span of a month or two, the lights burned out, and it was dangerous to go outside without a weapon, and everyone he had ever known was gone for good or just _gone_ and he had been left to fight for himself.

_You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?_ He thinks, half-smiling and half-grimacing – that was the last video game he had played since this mess started, and he was beginning to think it was his last.

He stokes a small fire, pressing his hands up against his cheeks only to find that they're ice cold. He grumbles under his breath and then pulls his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing a number from memory.

If he felt like being optimistic, he would say that his whole life is kind of like a video game now, where he romps around and kills bad guys and maybe gets injured sometimes, finding weapons and creepy relics from houses that had been abandoned in a hurry. That would be, if he felt like being optimistic, which was something that wore down on him more and more lately.

_The number you have called is no longer in service--_

He snaps his phone closed, tempted to throw the stupid thing into the fire. He stares down at it for a moment and finally relents, putting it back in his pocket, knowing that he's the stupid one for holding on to the hope that he'll be contacting anyone with the thing.

There's a knock on the door, and Wally nearly jumps out of his skin. He grabs one of the eskrima sticks, fingers wrapping around it tightly as he sidles over to the door – he's got to be crazy, for answering it, honestly, but the knocking gets more and more insistent, and he hates being told he's too slow for anyone. He swallows thickly, every muscle in his body tightening until he feels like the tension could snap his own bones, and the knocking stops and the pounding starts – the person is trying to knock the door off its hinges, and he goes into panic mode, trying to fight his instincts to get the hell out of there. His feet sense his indecision because all at once, he trips over nothing, falling to the charred wooden floor, his weapon skidding out of reach, just as the door swings violently open and someone points an arrow in his direction.

He may have shrieked, green eyes wild with what may be terror, and the blood coursing through his veins hot and quick, his heart pounding against his chest.

“Roy... ?” He breathes, coughing as the dust clears, but it's not Roy, it's... a girl.

Her dark eyes hold just as much fear as his, and she blows a piece of blonde hair out of her face, frowning – no, grimacing. Out of fear or disgust, Wally can't tell and doesn't really have the time to find out.

“Roy?” She echoes, raising a thin eyebrow. The red head's eyes shift over her features – dark eyes, dirt smeared across her delicate nose, lips that seem perfect to kiss – and he blinks stupidly, swearing internally at the heat rising to his cheeks. He gets up indignantly and juts out his chin, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Sorry, someone you don't know,” he says. “Just a friend who is probably much better with a bow than you are.” He shrugs carelessly and reaches out a hand to push the door closed – it won't latch; perfect. He scowls.

“Excuse me?” She demands, her arrow still carefully trained on him.

“Nothing, it's nothing,” he sighs, moving towards the dusty table in the adjoined dining room, starting to drag it towards the foyer. “Why are you even here?”

She lowers her bow an infinitesimal amount before responding, which might be a good sign, but Wally can't tell if it's because she's letting her guard down or because she's decided she'd rather murder him with her bare hands. He ignores the burning feeling rising in his throat.

“I thought this would be a safe place because I saw fire, but I guess that was probably just your hair burning my eyes,” she says, finally collapsing her bow completely and affixing it to her belt. She crosses her arms over her chest, smiling smugly at him.

“Ha ha, that's original,” he mutters, voice strained from pulling the heavy oak table. He raises his voice slightly, nudging her with his elbow. “Move.”

“What for?”

“So I can barricade the door that you so graciously just destroyed and not die tonight! Unless you were planning on leaving? Because by all means--” he gestures grandly towards the door with a large sweeping movement of his hands, “feel free.”

He doesn't really give her the chance to take him up on the offer though, and he pushes the table up against it the moment she steps back, going back for two of the chairs. Not like he's using this crap anyway – not like anyone will be coming back for it, he thinks bitterly.

“God, who are you, anyway?” Wally spits, shoving the chairs up onto the table and then snatching his weapon from the floor and retreating back into the living room – or what's left of it, anyway.

“Artemis,” she mumbles, voice sharp around the edges with distrust and a desperation that he thinks every living person must have at this point.

“Oh, you actually have a name – you mean you're not the quirky, socially awkward girl who's here to solely romance me and assist in my personal growth?” Wally asks, waggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly, clasping his hands together by his face. His attempt at an amused expression only grows weary as she gapes at him, and he flops down onto his couch with a sigh, laying an upturned hand over his eyes. “It's just a joke, beautiful, lighten up.”

“Just a joke? How can you be _joking_ at a time like this?!” The girl with golden hair shrieks at him, and Wally grimaces, making his freckles get lost in the crinkles at the bridge of his nose.

“Helps me get through the day, just like clearly being a maniac helps you do the same,” he says coldly. He regrets the way his words sound – has he always been like this? His eyes shift to his weapon of choice lying on the ground next to him, and he tries to remember a time when he was only watching his best friend mess with them, rather than using them to actually fight. A time when he wasn't fighting for his life and staying in an abandoned mansion with too many rooms that feels even emptier without boyish giggling ringing throughout the spacious halls. He sits up uncomfortably, scratching at the back of his head. “I'm Wally. Wally West.”

There's a beat, and Artemis starts talking, “Is your name seriously Wally--”

“Don't laugh, I already know it's a dumb name, alright?” He says quickly, voice squeaking a little more than he'd like.

He leans back in his seat, eyes scanning the cracks in the ceiling, daring to gaze over at her just once when he thinks she's not looking – her dark green shirt is ripped on the side, the green arrow shaped emblem on the front starting to wear away, and she is rubbing her hands together, her skin dotted with goosebumps. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs, even his breath coming out annoyed.

“You should probably stay here for the night,” he says, begrudgingly. “It's dangerous to go alone, and all that.”

“You're just going to let me stay here?” Artemis asks incredulously. “Just like that?” She blinks dumbly. “How do you know I'm not going to kill you, or something?”

“Could ask you the same thing, babe,” and there's only a tinge of smarminess to Wally's voice and in the way he's giving her a lopsided smirk – the rest is an underlying seriousness that makes the blonde's blood run cold. She visibly swallows, and nods.

“Right.” She takes a step back, her hands lingering near her belt, as if ready to spring into action and shoot him through the chest at a moment's notice. “How do I know that, exactly?”

Wally's shoulders slacken and he looks at the lines in his palms.

“Guess you're just gonna have to trust that I'm one of the good guys.”

There's no babe, or beautiful, or any other sleazy term of endearment punctuating his sentence this time – nothing but his own body, hunched over and worn down from running for far too long. He doesn't want to trust her, either, but he doesn't know if he has any more options. He's been alone for too long, and from the way she looks, she has too. If anything, he hates her, in this moment, for breaking him down so easily.

“It shouldn't be every man for himself out there,” he whispers.

Artemis starts, and Wally pretends he doesn't see it.

 


	2. Gotham City; April 1, 2009, 15:05 EDT

“Dude, can you hurry up? You've been taking your turn for like, ten minutes now.”

“I just want to make sure I'm making the exact right move!” Dick shrugs carelessly, flicking his gaze up from his resource cards to meet Wally's eyes and grinning over at him. Wally flares his nostrils, leaning back on his hands.

“You're doing it to make me mad!”

“If me taking my turn like a normal person has that added benefit, then so be it.”

He lets out a boyish giggle as Wally rolls his eyes.

 


	3. Gotham City; August 9, 2010, 6:10 EDT

Wally presses his hand up against the wall of the bedroom, taking in a shallow breath. The room has been abandoned for at least a month now, drawers flung open and emptied, martial arts weapons pulled from their decorative positions on the walls, a thin layer of dust and soot covering every surface.

He pulls his hand away and rubs the dirt from his fingers. This room, this whole place – it's nothing but a wasteland, just like the rest of Gotham, and he feels stupid for thinking that he would find anything, or anyone, here.

There's a pounding coming from the foyer down the hall and he jumps. Pounding, and a large _bang_ that reverberates throughout the mansion, and a shriek that does the same.

“Wally-- !”

He can hear Artemis shout, but he's empty handed without something to fight with, so he rips one of the short jian swords hanging decoratively off the wall. He swears and bolts down the hall, sliding into the foyer to see Artemis shoot an arrow right through the chest of a man far too large to be real, with skin that looked like it was made from minerals.

“What the hell is that thing?” He yells, staring over the body that has fallen to a lump on the floor – he grabs the hilt of his sword with both hands, hoping to stop them from shaking.

“I don't know,” Artemis says flatly before releasing another arrow into some kind of chimera with the body of a bear and the head of a deer. She glares over at him, refusing to lower her bow even a tiny bit. “Are you just going to stand there and die or are you going to help me?”

He blinks and swallows thickly, right, he has to fight now. He's fought monsters before, obviously, but he's never killed one. He stares down at the weapon in his hand for just a moment too long – an arrow flies by and goes right through the mouth of one of those mineral man things just as it was about to grab for him.

Artemis grabs him by the shoulder.

“Wally! Get it together!” Her gaze is narrowed and her teeth bared. “We need to get out of here, there's too many of them for just us!”

“Right,” he says a little too quickly, casting a glance at the doorway, brimming with monsters trying to get in, before turning and running down the hall with Artemis following behind. “This way.” He turns to the left, and then to the right, before ducking into the library.

“Um, isn't this just _further_ from the exit?!” She asks as they slide the door shut and Wally pushes a few side tables up against it. “Are you trying to get us trapped?”

“Look, _Artemis_ ,” he growls, willing his hands to stop shaking. He realizes he left his eskrima sticks in the living room, and he closes his eyes for only slightly longer than a standard blink. “I know where I'm going, so shut your mouth before it runs right off your body!” He gives the tables one last shove and slips in between the library shelves, dragging his fingers along the books until he finds the right one, pulling down on it to reveal a passageway. He blows out a breath and starts down the stairs, not caring to even look if Artemis is following or not – it doesn't matter, he doesn't care at this point if she's just going to criticize him.

Wally stops so abruptly at one of the landings that Artemis almost runs into him as he presses his hands to the cool stone walls. “I know it's around here somewhere...” He mutters, movements becoming more frantic as clumsy footsteps echo around them from above. He feels the notch in one of the stone blocks, and with a soft breath of satisfaction, pushes it in, revealing another passageway.

They step inside, Artemis lingering by the doorway until it slides closed behind her.

“Seriously? Cliché much?” She mumbles under her breath. She then raises her voice, following Wally's hasty path down the hallway. “How do you know about all this stuff?”

“That's not important,” he says quietly, coming to a stop in front of a door and silently thanking it for a change of topic. He doesn't want to share anything with Artemis, no matter how hot he thinks she is – she's just too annoying. “We'll go through here. There's a way outside here, it'll take us just outside of Gotham.” That should be enough to get them out of danger, at least. The problem will be finding shelter tonight, because they can't come back here now.

The next room is the armory, which Wally and Dick had so graciously nicknamed the Batcave what feels like forever ago when they found a horde of bats living up in the rafters, and Wally easily walks between all the weapons. He blows out a soft puff of air and forces his gaze away from Dick's old martial arts weapons.

“If you need arrows, now's the time to grab some,” he tells her flatly, examining a sword exactly like the one he has swinging dangerously unsheathed from his belt. He pulls the sheath off of the one resting on the pedestal and slides the sword from Dick's room into it.

“Won't the people who live here realize that we're stealing their weapons?” Artemis asks, similarly analyzing a quiver of arrows. She pulls one out and examines it before giving a slight nod of approval and slipping the quiver over her other shoulder.

“Not like it seems like you care since you're taking them anyway,” Wally starts, resting his hands on his hips and looking at her disapprovingly, “but no one's coming back here.” He turns on his heel and starts walking away, towards their escape route, refusing to let her see the look on his face as he has to say those words out loud, to make the fact that _they aren't coming back_ a reality.

“But how do you _know_ that?” She asks, struggling to catch up to his quick pace. When he doesn't respond, she continues on. “And how did you know about this place?”

“Does it really matter?” He asks abruptly, spinning around to face her, and her dark eyes widen just the smallest bit in surprise. “Look, Artemis, no offense, but it's kind of none of your business. You don't see me prying into _your_ life.”

He turns and continues walking down the passage, and can hear her trailing behind him. He doesn't trust her. He doesn't even like her. But she's all he's got right now, and it'll have to be good enough.

“I think we should head to Metropolis,” Wally says finally.

 


	4. Central City, July 5, 2010, 23:16 CDT

“Dick?”

“Open the window!” Dick mouths against the glass.

The monsters started showing up two days ago in Central. Wally knows that they had been in Gotham for much longer – long enough for Dick and Bruce to get the hell out of there and try to hitch it to the safe zone across the country, long enough for all the public means of transportation to stop running, long enough for people to start getting killed by these things.

“You scared the crap out of me!” Wally says, sliding the window open and willing his heartbeat to slow down. “Would it kill you to use a normal means of entering my house for once?”

“Maybe,” the smaller boy says, giving a half-hearted grin. “Would you have even opened the door, though?”

Wally doesn't even need to say that he probably wouldn't have, with the way his gaze flutters to the ground. Of course he wouldn't, with all the black eyed children who have been appearing in the city – who knows what else will be coming next, and no one opens their doors anymore.

“Come with us, Wally.”

The redhead looks up, eyebrows creased together. He wants to, he wants to take off to the safezone as fast as his legs will carry him, to get out of Central before it gets too bad but--

“I can't just leave my family behind, Dick.”

Dick tries not to look disheartened and just nods, running his teeth against his bottom lip as if to compose himself. He pulls a weapon from his belt – two eskrima sticks, worn from use and with tape wrapped around the centers – and shoves them into the other boy's hands. “Just in case,” he mutters hastily. “Stay whelmed, alright?” And he slips back into the shadows away from Wally's window, and the freckled boy stops himself from reaching out, bites back his name, and he listens to the car door slamming and the tires skidding on the pavement in the distance.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's what I've got for now! Depending on the response this gets I'll probably write more. Thanks for reading! Tumblr is ivankarelin.tumblr.com if you want to follow me or drop me an ask.


	5. Somewhere South of Metropolis, August 9, 2010, 8:00 EST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally and Artemis head to Metropolis, where they run into some familiar faces.

After pilfering some motorbikes from Wayne Manor, the two race off down the highway to Metropolis.

“What, exactly, are you planning to find in Metropolis?” Artemis asks, voice crackling into focus in Wally's ear. He glances from the road for only a moment before turning back.

“Ever heard of Lex Luthor?”

He can practically hear her rolling her eyes and he scowls under his helmet.

“The owner of LexCorp? Um, yeah, I think so, Wally.” She pauses. “What's he got to do with anything?”

“Luthor is a powerful guy, right? Powerful, and paranoid. So -- and here's a truly dumb idea – what better place to try to find caches of weapons, food, communications equipment... you see where I'm going with this?”

If Wally could see Artemis's face, he was certain she would be giving him a look that said that he was a total idiot. Whatever, he's not proud.

“You want us to break into LexCorp,” she says flatly. “You're right, this is a truly dumb idea.”

“You got a better one?” He snaps. She says nothing, and Wally takes that as she doesn't.

They ride in silence the rest of the way, the only noises the crackling of the comms in their helmets and the wind whipping at their backs, the only marker of progress the small green sign reading “Metropolis City Limits.” Soon, they are engulfed by skyscrapers, and the pair stop their motorcycles at the edge of an abandoned road, tucked into an alleyway conveniently located adjacent to the LexCorp building.

Few people skirt around the city – a few taxis here, a few wanderers peeking into looted stores there. But they are few and far between, and the whole place gives off a sinister vibe, like a ghost town filled to the brim with actual ghosts. Wally glances around the alley – on one side, a crumbling brick building, and on the other, the shiny brushed steel of the LexCorp skyscraper. Towards the back, a chainlink fence that has probably seen better days. A door with a keypad and a card swiper catch Wally's eye, and he goes to examine it.

“What's your plan now? Kick down the door?” Artemis asks, with no small amount of sarcasm.

Wally reaches out and opens the door – no lock, no alarm, nothing – and Artemis stares at him, mouth now agape.

“Power's out,” he says simply, as if he knew that would work (he did not know that would work). He strolls in and then glances back behind him. “You coming?”

Artemis follows begrudgingly, drawing an arrow and nocking it into her bow as she goes.

“How do you know Luthor isn't down here?” She asks, voice echoing through the hallway – they are met with flights of metal stairs and they take the ones going down.

“You think a guy like Luthor is going to stick around while this is happening?” Wally scoffs. “If I were him, I would be halfway across the world right now in my private jet.” The stairs creak as they creep downwards, taking three flights down before coming across another door with a keypad and a card swiper. Only difference? This one won't budge when they try to pull it open.

“Bunker must have a backup generator that's powering the lock,” Wally says under his breath to no one in particular. If only Dick were here, he would have something that could hack the lock and get them inside in no time. He examines the door for a few moments more--

A clanging from above startles both of them, and Wally crowds Artemis towards a spot under the stairs. They look up, and through the gaps, they can tell someone, or something, is making their way down the stairs.

“There's something coming!” Artemis stage-whispers to Wally, who bats a hand in her direction. “What do we do?”

Is she seriously asking Wally this question right now? He doesn't know! He curses mentally and draws his sword in a shaking hand.

“I'll distract it, you try to get behind it and get out. I'll meet up with you.”

“No way!” Artemis's voice is taking on a more desperate edge as the steps get louder, until they're practically right on top of them. “I'm not just going to leave you, stupid.”

“What's your bright idea, then?”

“I don't know! Let's just both jump out at it!”

“Yeah, great plan,” he mutters sarcastically. “And this is coming from _me._ ” He puts an arm out, his hand touching the wall behind them, his elbow brushing against Artemis's torso, his flushed cheek practically a hair's-width away the side of her head – he tries not to feel embarrassed or... anything else. “We don't have time for this.”

“Right,” she says firmly. “We don't.”

And with that, Artemis surges forward, breaking his grasp, and jumps out into the path of whatever is coming towards them – she tucks and rolls, coming up onto one knee and pointing her arrow straight at the thing's theoretical heart. Wally's eyes go wide and his heart beats fast and hard in his ears and, okay, he has to admit: he's pretty impressed. Also, she looks _pretty_ hot right now, a thought which he totally blames on being in a life-or-death situation and his stupid brain feeling as though it is entitled to speaking its mind.

“Don't move,” Artemis growls, and Wally almost isn't sure if she's talking to him or the thing – from here, he can only see its feet, the rest shrouded in shadow from the dimly lit hallway. The only light available is the light by the door, casting harsh shadows across Artemis's back, but it's enough. “Come into the light, slowly, and maybe I won't kill you.”

“You got me,” a familiar voice says, and down the stairs, stepping into the yellow light, comes Roy Harper.

Wally bolts out from under the stairs.

“Roy! Dude, is that really you?” He asks with disbelief, fingers curling tighter around the handle of his sword.

“In the flesh,” Roy says, with an ironic flourish. He pushes past them and procures a key card from his pocket, swiping it to open the door. He slips inside and, well, he doesn't exactly invite them in, but Wally assumes that it was more of an implied invitation. Wally catches the door and goes in with Artemis.

The room looks part-warehouse, part-parking garage, part-studio apartment. Concrete floors, a heavy desk off to one side, leather couches arranged in a relatively fashionable manner. A small kitchenette sits in a corner, and next to it, a door leading to who knows where (bathroom?). The most noteworthy part though are the walls, all lined floor to ceiling with shelves, wardrobes, pantries. Weapons fill the open shelving units – mostly guns, but some random quivers and bows and the odd sword and laser gun are also lying around. A few heavy-duty plastic briefcases labeled “Communications” sit on the lowest shelf.

“You with her?” Roy gestures towards Artemis.

Wally doesn't trust his voice to work in regards to saying whether he's with Artemis is not, like Roy obviously doesn't mean _with_ her – he runs a hand across his neck, wishing that his brain would acknowledge the total _lack_ of a life-or-death situation right now and _shut up_. Whatever, he just nods.

“You know how to use a sword?” Roy asks, tilting his chin up and sneering. “And can she even use that bow?”

“Yes, _she_ can!” Artemis cuts in, stepping in front of Wally and leveling herself before he even has a chance to squeak out a defense for himself. “Who, exactly, are you supposed to be?”

Roy just rolls his eyes.

“Would be a better question for you, don't you think?”

“Artemis,” she says confidently, her hands on her hips.

A flicker of something that looked like recognition flashes over Roy's face, but he quickly becomes stone faced again.

Wally huffs out a breath – what would Dick do in this situation? Here are three people who practically all hate each other (look, he loves Roy and has known him forever, but he can be a total hothead – not like he himself is much better) and somehow they need to cooperate. Somehow.

“Listen,” he starts, forcing himself to measure his voice. To his surprise, they both look at him. “There's a safe house in Star City. That's where we were headed after this. It'll be safer if we stick together, so...” He looks pointedly at Roy, “are you in?”

Roy actually barks out a laugh, which makes Wally's blood boil.

“No thanks. You can have your little clubhouse – I've been safe right here.” He stalks over to a beat up desk chair sitting nearby and plops down in it, lounging. “Nothing in Star City for me anyway. Besides, with you two on my side? Sounds like a recipe for getting ourselves killed... no offense.”

“You can't just say 'no offense' after saying something offensive and expecting that to make it okay!” Artemis says, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

“Are you the only one hiding out here?” Wally cuts in before Roy can say something that will set off Artemis even more.

“Not... exactly.” Roy suddenly sounds... embarrassed? Wally doesn't really have time to think about it, because the door bursts open behind them. Roy seems unfazed, but Wally and Artemis both spin around, weapons brandished, at a girl who is obviously (well, hopefully) no threat at all.

“Woah!” She says, before looking directly at Wally. “Wally!” She runs over and throws her arms around his neck.

“Zatanna,” he says, mouth going dry, arms coming up to wrap under her's and around her back. When they break apart, he holds onto her biceps, almost afraid that if he lets her go, she will vanish (wouldn't be the first time). “What are you _doing_ here? With Roy?” Wally jabs a thumb in Roy's direction.

“My dad and I were in town for a show the attacks started,” she explains, voice getting almost imperceptibly shaky. Wally gives her a look.

“And your dad?”

She shakes her head and their eyes meet in a silent understanding. Zatanna bows her head slightly, her hair curtaining over her eyes – her hair, the messiest Wally has ever seen it. A question dips at the back of his mind, and it desperately wants to come out, he can feel it lurking at the back of his throat, like the lump you get before you start crying. Using the back of his hand, he moves the hair out of her eyes and tucks it behind her ear.

“Zatanna, have you heard from Dick at all?” He asks, and the question hangs in the air, pressing down on the two of them.

“No,” she finally says, shaking her head. “I was hoping you had.”

He clenches his jaw and shakes his head back.

“I went to Wayne Manor, but... nothing. I don't know what I was expecting.” His arms drop to his sides and he shoves his hands into his pockets, shrugging. Their eyes meet again. “Listen, I'm going to the safe house in Star City. That's the last place I knew Dick was going...” Assuming he made it there, he thinks but doesn't say. He steps away, bringing the rest of the world into their conversation. “I was in the middle of trying to get Roy to come with us.”

“Us?” Zatanna blinks her gaze over to Artemis, a smile breaking onto her face. “And who's this?” She gives Wally a look before stepping over, holding out a hand, and giving Artemis one of her winning smiles. “I'm Zatanna!”

“Uh.” Artemis's eyes flick between Wally and Zatanna. “I'm Artemis. Nice to meet you.” She looks over to Wally. “You guys obviously have a lot of catching up to do. I'm gonna...” She shakes her head slightly. “I'm going to go get some air.”

Wally gives her a concerned look, which he tries to make more questioning and less concerned in case... y'know, in case Artemis is an expert expression reader, or something. The last thing he wants is Artemis thinking he's worried about her, because he's totally not. Right.

“Wait, it's not safe--” Zatanna cuts in, which Wally is actually grateful for.

“I think I can handle myself,” Artemis says, before opening the door, combat boots clanking against the stairs and disappearing up.

“Where'd you pick her up?” Roy asks, voice equal parts suspicious and sarcastic.

“In Gotham,” Wally responds flatly, already grabbing for the door handle. “I'm going to check on her.” He chooses to ignore the look that Roy and Zatanna give to each other and heads up the stairs. He's about to yank the door at the top open when he thinks he hears people speaking.

Wally peers through the crack in the door, straining to hear. He sees Artemis and someone else – a woman with wild black hair and angular features, wearing a baseball cap and a green jacket. If he squints, he could maybe see a passing resemblance between the two of them, but he doesn't think about it for very long, the thought fleeing in favor of trying to hear what they're saying.

“You...” Artemis barely breathes. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know... the usual,” the woman says, grinning. She gestures vaguely towards the door, and Wally curls up on himself more. “Red down there is... very accommodating.”

Artemis scoffs. “Still in the family business, I see.” She crosses her arms over her chest, looking up at the fire escape lining the brick building next to them.

The woman hums, running a hand along Artemis's shoulders, which makes Wally's heart pound against his ribcage. Should he go out there? Sure, Artemis can handle herself, but something about the situation is making his skin crawl.

“More like... still in my own business,” she says. Her voice is slow and methodical, almost like a song spoken. “Every girl for herself, right?”

“Maybe for you,” Artemis mutters.

“Aw, that's sweet. Found some friends, have you?”

“Maybe I have, Jade!” Artemis's voice spikes, rough around the edges. Wally furrows his brows together. “Here to get rid of them, like you have to every other decent thing in my life?”

“Nope,” the woman – Jade, is what Wally thought he heard Artemis say – says simply, spreading her hands. “In fact, I was just on my way out.” She hops up, grabbing hold of the lowest rung of the rusty fire escape ladder, and hauls herself up, settling for a moment on the first platform. When she speaks, her voice is slightly softer, more sincere sounding. “I'm glad you got out too.”

“Thanks for the blessing,” Artemis spits, refusing to look as Jade scales the rest of the fire escape, disappearing over the rooftop and vanishing from view. Artemis stands still for a few moments longer, fists clenched, before turning on her heel and going back towards the door. Wally jumps back and dashes down the stairs, but only gets about halfway down the first flight before he hears the door open. He spins around, acting as if he had just conveniently been walking up the stairs at the time.

“Hey,” he says, scratchily. He clears his throat. “Everything good?”

“Yep,” Artemis says, pushing past him on the stairs, edginess creeping into her voice. “Just perfect.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up a lot longer than I expected it to lmao. For updates or if you want to drop me a line, my tumblr is ivankarelin.tumblr.com! Thanks for reading.


	6. Metropolis, August 12, 2010, 7:30 EST

Wally and Artemis decide to crash for a few days in Metropolis while Zatanna and Roy (well... mostly Roy) hem and haw over if they're going to come with or not. For her part, Zatanna seems to be all in – she and Wally both seem just as anxious as the other to reunite with Dick.

Apparently, Roy and Zatanna have been staying here for months now, starting only a few days after the attacks started. Roy evidently had the same thought process as Wally – by the time he got into LexCorp, it was pretty much abandoned. He thought he would be able to make a hideout in Luthor's office or something when he came across this room. Roy said he never took Luthor for a doomsday prepper, but he was glad he found it either way.

As she said, Zatanna was in town for a magic show with her dad, the super famous magician Zatara (who may or may not have mafia connections, Wally never figured that one out). They never even got the chance to perform and the instant monsters started showing up, Zatanna sent out a mass text to everyone on her contacts list and Roy, in what Wally considers an extremely charitable move (you know, for Roy, anyway), happened to respond, telling her to get to LexCorp.

The three of them have spent the last few days catching up. Wally tries to fill in Artemis on most of the people they're talking about. Zatanna somehow works her perfect nice girl magic on Artemis and they actually seem to become friends. Well, as close as Artemis can get anyway, meaning that at least she's not a frothing ball of rage every time Zatanna speaks, which is better than Wally or Roy have gotten.

Can't lie, being here is pretty sweet. It reminds Wally of the good old days with the big family friend reunions that happened every summer, and of group Skype calls, and of Dick flying people out to Gotham on his bougie private jet funded by that Wayne Tech money for his birthday – except, of course, that one pivotal piece is missing. Every time Wally thinks about him or Zatanna mentions him offhandedly, they both get a look on their face that instantly brings down the mood.

After 3 days, Wally decided that they need to get moving, with or without Roy. He made this known last night, telling Roy to sleep on it just one more time.

He wakes up early, though it's hard to tell in this windowless bunker what time it really is. He creeps up off the floor, having given the couches to the girls, and stretches out his arms and cracks his neck. Sleeping on a concrete floor? Not amazing. He would practically rather be roughing it in destroyed Mayne Manor than sleeping here, but here has its perks – so far, no monsters. Wally sidles over to the wall and pulls out a case labeled “Communications” that caught his eye when he first arrived. Kneeling down, he opens it up and starts digging through, looking for anything that would be useful: working cell phones, chargers – hell, he would take a set of walkie talkies at this point.

At the very bottom, he finds something even better: a smaller plastic case that holds about ten comm links, the kind that spies wear in movies. If Wally wasn't in the middle of a monster apocalypse right now, he would think this was the coolest thing ever.

A hand rests on Wally's shoulder, and when he looks up, Roy is crouched next to him, whispering into his ear.

“If Zee is going really bent on with you guys, you better not think that you're leaving me behind.”

Wally raises an eyebrow at Roy before looking back into the case, continuing his digging if only to give his hands something to do.

“Okay,” he says, dragging out the first syllable. “What's with the change of heart?”

“Listen, I know Artemis isn't shooting straight.”

“You know, I'm getting kind of tired of you dumping on her,” Wally mutters, flinging his hands out to the side in frustration. “Why would you even think that, anyway?”

Roy appears suddenly uncomfortable, shifting his weight from foot to foot for a moment.

“I'm just saying, watch your back. Her family isn't the best influence.”

“How would you--”

The leather of the couch squeaking catches both of them off guard, and they fall silent. They can hear Artemis getting up and yawning and she lets out a little groan and Wally has to close his eyes for a minute. Roy tilts his head.

“Just remember what I said,” he mumbles before standing up.

Wally shrugs his shoulders, muttering some choice words under his breath, though it doesn't make him feel any better. He hears Roy give Artemis a terse greeting before going into the kitchen and brewing a pot of coffee – how they acquired that, Wally has no idea. He snaps closed the case and pockets the comm links. He's already packed up some rations for the journey, and he looks around, trying to think if there was anything else he should take. Definitely temped to grab one of those sweet laser guns hanging on the wall – Roy was right when he questioned whether Wally could even use this sword (he can't).

Wally decides to go check on the bikes – they manged to wedge them inside the doorway and into the corridor, but it wouldn't be that difficult for someone to take them if they wanted to, so he's been kinda paranoid about them. Oddly, Artemis, Roy, and Zatanna all know how to hotwire cars, _apparently_ , so they acted like losing the bikes was no big. Although a car may be a little more practical, the idea of a super fun family road trip with a person who hates him, his best bud's girlfriend, and a person who is prone to exploding at any moment (yeah, Wally will let you figure out on your own who is who here) is not that appealing. Then again, riding double with those same people... Wally swallows down the thought that it might not be that bad riding rouble with Artemis.

As he approaches the top, he hears clanging against the stairs that can only be from Artemis's combat boots. He stops to let her catch up.

“What were you and Roy talking about?” Artemis asks, immediately on the offensive. And here Wally thought they could have a normal conversation for once.

“Nothing that concerns you,” he says, lying through his teeth. He doesn't even know why he does it, it just comes out. If he really thought Roy was full of shit, which he probably is, why couldn't he just tell Artemis what he said and then they'd have a good laugh about it? Also, Wally did kind of defend her to Roy, so maybe it will make her like him more. But something in the back of his mind urges him to keep this a little closer to his chest, just in case... especially after what he saw and heard last night.

Wally reaches into his pocket and brandishes the case of comms in Artemis's direction. She raises an eyebrow.

“You found... a plastic box. Good going, Wally.”

“Actually, it's a box of in-ear communication links,” he gloats, opening it up and taking one of the small metal discs out. “I mean, if you don't want one, that's fine, you can just go it alone.” He shrugs and she glares, so yeah, this conversation is going about par for the course. She snatches it from his hand and shoves it in her ear. Wally takes another one out of the box and does the same.

They start walking up the stairs again, the silence echoing almost as loudly as their steps. They get up to the landing without saying another word, and when Wally goes over to look at the bikes and shove some things into the under-seat compartment, Artemis finally speaks up.

“So, who is she?” Artemis asks, hesitantly, as if she's been trying to come up with the nerve to ask this question for awhile, running a hand along her opposite arm. “Zatanna, I mean.” She pauses, and Wally notices she's pointedly not looking at him. “I mean to you. A girlfriend?”

Wally actually laughs. “Are you joking?” When she does look at him, it's to give him a vaguely threatening look, which, okay. Guess she's not joking. He holds his hands up in surrender. “No. She's actually...” He pauses, not sure how to phrase this. “She's just an old friend. Don't worry, you'll still get plenty of my attention.”

Alarms are starting to go off in his head right about now. What-- why did he just say that? He can feel his face heat up and he wishes he could go find a working toilet and flush himself down it. Out of his peripheral vision, he can see Artemis also turning furiously red.

“Oh, please!” She finally says, dripping with sarcasm. “By all means, direct your attention anywhere else. I'm begging you.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and crosses her arms over her chest. “The last thing I need is your attention.”

Why does she have to be so infuriating all the time? God, it's like the second he feels like they're actually getting along, she goes and does... whatever this is.

“Good, then!” He says, voice coming hot in his throat. “Next time you're in a life or death situation, I'll be sure to direct none of my attention to you!”

“Can you two like, get a room or something?” Zatanna asks, appearing next to them and Wally nearly jumps out of his fucking skin. Man, he hates when she does that – a nasty habit she picked up from Dick, no doubt. Artemis looks shaken up as well.

“How long have you been standing there?” Artemis asks.

“Oh, long enough to hear my favorite redhead over there call me 'an old friend,'” Zatanna says, adding air quotes for emphasis. “I'm touched, Wally! Also, don't tell Roy that you're my favorite.” She reaches over and ruffles his hair, which he pushes away but smiles at anyway. She walks over and plops onto the seat of one of the bikes, leaning against the wall and examining her nails, using her other hand to push back her cuticles. “I was also here long enough to see that you guys seriously need to get a room, as I mentioned previously.”

Artemis gives Zatanna an unimpressed look before turning on her heel and stomping down the stairs, which Wally thinks shows a lot of restraint.

“So,” Zatanna says as Artemis's footsteps disappear, her voice more level. “Today's the day, huh? Leaving this sanctuary to go across the country on these and possibly get killed by monsters. All just to reunite with a friend.”

Wally avoids her gaze.

“You and I both know Dick is more important than that,” he mutters, pretending to be adjusting something on the bike. “To both of us.”

Zatanna just nods and they head back down, pack up their meager belongings, and by the late afternoon, the four of them are speeding off out of Metropolis, into the unknown.

 

 


End file.
